Santa Will Leverage Social Media this Year -

Can He Find Your Retail Store?

Holiday season is gearing up! Challenging economy or not, shoppers will be out On and Offline this year in growing numbers. This year online marketing and social media marketing will be critical for small business Holiday success and here’s why!

Independent retailers will find that their customers are moving online in droves to get ready for the holiday shopping season. The questions are:

Can they find you? If not they will find your competitor

Do you know what they are looking for?

How can you leverage online and especially social media to get your share of holiday dollars?

Why should you care?

In a recent article from Hubspot60 Inspirational Holiday Marketing Statisticsthere can be no question that holiday shopping will be dominated by the Internet and especially social media like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. The good news…It is not too late for your small rural retail business to get on the bandwagon!

Need some convincing? Here are some statistics YOU need to know about Holiday Shopping Online this year:

In August 2011 75% of consumers started researching holiday gift purchase.s 89% of them started their shopping online

47% of shoppers (nearly half) will buy online this year up from 43% in 2010

32% will be doing comparative shopping online more often

Online consumers spend an average of $857 online that is nearly 22% MORE than the average consumer

42% of online holiday buyers said SALE and Price Discounts as most important factors to shop with you this holiday season

So How about Social Media?

39% of consumers plan to look to social networks and online discount sites like Grouponand LivingSocial BEFORE purchasing

in 2010 21% of Cyber Monday shoppers said they heard about promotions from someone else through social media networks

BIGGIE! 36% of retailers plan to spend MOST of their holiday marketing budget on social media platforms during the 2011 holiday season that is up from 27% in 2010.

MOBILE COUNTS: Nealy 40% of consumers own a smart phone AND 53% say they will use it to help them shop this season

31% of smartphone users will use their phone to RESEARCH or COMPARE holiday prices.

25% of smartphone users will use their phone to look YOU up and information about your store

70% of consumers who own tablet computers like iPads say they will research holiday products and locations with their tablet.

No question about it Santa and his elves are online this year… looking for gifts, deals, discounts, coupons AND information about your business. Are you ready to meet them?

The good news is it isn’t too late to get your online holiday marketing tools in place.

How the ASU Small Business Center can Help Your Retail Business This Holiday Season

The ASU Small Business and Technology Development Center’s consultants can help! The consultants at Arkansas State University, Laura Miller and Robert Bahn provide free, confidential consulting assistance to start-up and existing businesses throughout Northeast and North-Central Arkansas including assistance with marketing plans and marketing strategy implementation. Call (870) 972-3517 or email us at [email protected] and find out how the ASU Small Business and Technology Development Center can make your retail Holiday Season a happier AND more profitable one!